“The Golden Compass” is the most well-known of the trilogy, partially due to the 2007 movie adaptation starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. The three books come together to form a fantasy epic involving a girl named Lyra Belacqua, demons, witches, ghosts, and a multiverse.

Philip Pullman’s series has been adapted multiple times before in many different forms. Along with the 2007 film, the BBC adapted Pullman’s trilogy into a radio drama starring Terence Stamp. The fantasy epic has also been previously adapted to the stage, most famously by the Nicholas Hytner directed version that split the series into a two-part performance that was six hours long. London’s Royal National Theatre hosted that performance and it lasted from December 2003 to March 2004. The play’s success lead to a revival in November 2004, lasting that time until April 2005.

Along with adaptations, “His Dark Materials” has been accompanied by a good deal of controversy, revolving mostly around the trilogy’s anti-Christian views. The film adaptation obscured these themes in order to prevent offending viewers, but some felt that this watered down the film to a great degree.

The play is presented from May 16 to May 19, and combines all three books for what the theatre department is calling simply “His Dark Materials.”